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The Crowd: Study of the Popular Mind
by
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by French social theorist Gustave Le Bon is a short treatise on the principles of large gatherings of people. As the disclaimer on the title page notes, the ideas in Le Bon's book were popular at the time of the late 19th century but are no longer in vogue today. The reasons for this are obvious, as LeBon unpretentiously puts to fault
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Paperback, 104 pages
Published
October 29th 2014
by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
(first published 1895)
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The Crowd is essential for crowd theory, but as McClelland notes, Le Bon sometimes plays it fast and loose with his theory (as well as his sources, in order to make him seem like the foundation of a new theory -- kind of a habit of his as he even claimed that Einstein had gotten the theory of relativity from him). The main point is that (a) crowds regress (and people's foundational ideas are racial/conservative), (b) crowds always need to be led, and (c) the most powerful leaders are as fascinat
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The writer of the summary of this book has given it an unfair shake. Without consideration for the period and setting in which Le Bon was reflecting on his observations of group behavior, many of his insights are timeless. He reflects steadily on the French Revolution and the observations of earlier writers and historians (in particular, Hippolyte Taine), and relays the effects of groups upon individuals in various subcategories of society regardless of degree of perceived sophistication or earn
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WEIGHTY, BUT WORDY.
“In crowds it is stupidity and not mother-wit that is accumulated.”—page 20
Gustave Le Bon’s, ‘The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind is an excellent, though slow, exposition on the mindset of crowds—be they riotous mobs, elected legislatures, criminal trial juries, or classroom committees—that is packed with insights. On the downside, it would take three of four readings before I’d be comfortable that I’d gotten most of it.
Recommendation: For serious student and curious, but p ...more
“In crowds it is stupidity and not mother-wit that is accumulated.”—page 20
Gustave Le Bon’s, ‘The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind is an excellent, though slow, exposition on the mindset of crowds—be they riotous mobs, elected legislatures, criminal trial juries, or classroom committees—that is packed with insights. On the downside, it would take three of four readings before I’d be comfortable that I’d gotten most of it.
Recommendation: For serious student and curious, but p ...more
This was not a very pleasant read per-se. It has even upset my stomach at times. Nonetheless, the leap this man has taken for humanity in terms of understanding our nature is quite huge. It is in our nature to have to descend a few steps down the ladder of evolution, from the mere effect of being embedded in a group of people. The stronger the connections, the more our unconscious mind takes explicit form, bringing to surface the most destructive illogical and irrational power our species has kn
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could I have read this book earlier?
not sure, maybe because most of the information I was able to extract were already known to me. if in chapter 1 it differentiates between a CROWD and the psychological crowd. Which then builds on to describe the characteristics of the psychological crowd, and causes of these characteristics.
One of these causes is the suggestibility, it somehow opens a window into hypnoses. I felt strong desire to read about hypnotizing people after this section.
in chapter 2, ...more
not sure, maybe because most of the information I was able to extract were already known to me. if in chapter 1 it differentiates between a CROWD and the psychological crowd. Which then builds on to describe the characteristics of the psychological crowd, and causes of these characteristics.
One of these causes is the suggestibility, it somehow opens a window into hypnoses. I felt strong desire to read about hypnotizing people after this section.
in chapter 2, ...more
It's quite an easy read and also amusing to me. It'd never 100% true when it comes to generalization, so you'll have to accept that it will be accurate and inaccurate to some extent.
I'm reading this book when there're ongoing protests in Vietnam. Gustave shares some good points when he says it's useless to find any logic, critical thinking in any crowd's mind. In general, they want to believe what they want to believe.
What I like about this book is some core characteristics that you can easily ...more
I'm reading this book when there're ongoing protests in Vietnam. Gustave shares some good points when he says it's useless to find any logic, critical thinking in any crowd's mind. In general, they want to believe what they want to believe.
What I like about this book is some core characteristics that you can easily ...more
Amazing.
A late-nineteenth-century study (commentary) on the nature of crowds, that appears to be regarded as a classic in sociology. Even today, it remains a good read. However, modern readers will likely be shocked by the author's then-popular prejudices against women and "primatives." The lack of documentation according to modern standards will also disturb some. Finally, the tone of the book is that of an educated elite looking down upon his subjects of study and feeling separate and somewhat superio
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Jun 03, 2011
Alex
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
french-original,
psychology
Extremely convincing even though the theories are much based on reasoning and not experimentation. After reading, it suddenly becomes quite clear why crowds, radical ideas, loss of reasoning, prohibition of minority opinions, violence, and destruction have natural kinships, and how the French Revolution, the Bolshevik and the Nazi movements, and Mao's "Cultural revolution", etc. could happen, and so explosively.
(Edition: Psychologie des foules, 1895, http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2...)
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(Edition: Psychologie des foules, 1895, http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2...)
...more
The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. An individual in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand, which the wind stirs up at will.
The book is amazing discussing the mind of the crowd in a world started to revolut against regimes and ideas. Being Egyptian who witnessed Egyptian revolution in 2011, I felt like all the ideas of the book happened in a way or another. The last thing, if you plan to read the book in English don't buy the version published by dover publications NY, its poorly written and edited.
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Although this book was written 100 years ago, it is still valid today. It is a very good analysis of the manipulation of the masses. The author also analyzes the ideologies, is showing the problems of the ideologies, and 100 years ago predicted the fall of the communist ideology. A very good book, and the author is objective when affirms his statements.
On the way understanding crowds in particular and societies in general, this book is always considered being the solid stone. Regardless some of its out-of-date statements, Gustave Le Bon was still able to lead the readers go through some 101-things about crow psychology.
Highly recommend for ones who are looking for initial interest in societal psychology :)
Highly recommend for ones who are looking for initial interest in societal psychology :)
I read The Crowd this week for my Leadership and Moral Responsibility class. It was interesting and one of the better readings that I've had to do for the class. His ideas about crowds seemed reasonable.
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I read this book as a kindle book freely available from Amazon.com because it was mentioned in a podcast called, You Are Not So Smart. It took some time to read, but there are some spots which seem to possess insight which might be useful in considering the political process.
Racist, sexist, and pseudo-scientific, despite some occasional worthy insights.
Well , that explains a lot :D
A must read
A must read
it's really a great book about public behave. You could keep calm when you are alone, but with the crown you could lose your mind.
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This book is a must read for anyone wondering about our current world, how public opinion gets created and changed. Written in 1895, book is a timeless study into human or crowd behaviour.
This book just didn't outlive its' time.
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May 02, 2019
Arno Mosikyan
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
neuroscience-psychology
The substitution of the unconscious action of crowds for the conscious activity of individuals is one of the principal characteristics of the present age.
Why, for instance, after noting the extreme mental inferiority of crowds, elected assemblies included, I still affirm it would be dangerous to meddle with their organisation, notwithstanding this inferiority.
Nature has recourse at times to radical measures, but never after our fashion, which explains how it is that nothing is more fatal to a pe ...more
Why, for instance, after noting the extreme mental inferiority of crowds, elected assemblies included, I still affirm it would be dangerous to meddle with their organisation, notwithstanding this inferiority.
Nature has recourse at times to radical measures, but never after our fashion, which explains how it is that nothing is more fatal to a pe ...more
025-The Crowd-Le Bon-Sociology-1895
Barack
—— “The crowd will only do two things: icing on the cake or falling into the rocks.”
"The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind" was first published in 1895. It is a work that studies popular psychology and explains the psychological characteristics of groups.
Gustave Le Bon was born in Nogent Le Rotru, France in 1841 and died in 1931. He is called "Machiavelli of the group society".
Le Bon believes that "the reason why some civilization is great is that it do ...more
There are a number of books that portray financial bubbles and crowd behaviour. This from 1895 is the best one even if it doesn’t specifically touch on the financial markets. The Crowd by the French sociologist Gustave Le Bon covers a number of topics such as how individuals adapt to the group view and suppress their own knowledge, how groups hinder analysis and promote “stories”, the way groups make decisions and how they handle persons with a contrary view of events. The points Le Bon makes ma
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It is easy to find the rough and even unreasonable in Le Bon's theory. When we go from the individual to the collective, will there really be a transition from rational to irrational? Is this sudden change too miraculous? Thinking back to the moment when we were in the collective, did it really become a puppet that lost its mind and was at the mercy of others? This rational-crazy dichotomy is too absolute?
At the same time as Le Bon, there is another French psychologist. His research on group beh ...more
At the same time as Le Bon, there is another French psychologist. His research on group beh ...more
Apr 30, 2018
Dr. Phoenix
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
social-topics,
psychology
Le Bon first published this work in 1895. It is as relevant today as it was then. although a few of the concepts and approaches have evolved over time, it still has many insights to share and from which we can draw lessons. Others have been influenced by his writing notable, Hitler, Mao, Freud and Mussolini to mention but a few. This title covers the dynamics of crowd psychology and establishes certain undeniable principles relating to their behavior and psychology.
When Le Bon speaks of "race" ...more
When Le Bon speaks of "race" ...more
This book is eerily relevant to the events and schools of thoughts in society today. It shows the cyclic nature of humans as a unit, and a part of that is how the unit sometimes acts as a group of extremists even when the individuals are themselves moderate.
The arguments presented in the book are generalizations that will likely anger some modern readers. However, if you read it slowly and objectively, set it aside every time the argument stirs you, and come back to it when you're calm again, y ...more
The arguments presented in the book are generalizations that will likely anger some modern readers. However, if you read it slowly and objectively, set it aside every time the argument stirs you, and come back to it when you're calm again, y ...more
An almost timeless piece of work. It explains how individuals behave differently when in groups or crowds, how the crowd becomes an entity with certain characteristics and dynamics, and what or who can influence crowds. It is very powerful knowledge that can explain so many mass manipulation events in the past century and the newer social media effect.
The book is also an interesting piece from a historical point of view. It was written in 1895, so the study cases inside are up to that point - t ...more
The book is also an interesting piece from a historical point of view. It was written in 1895, so the study cases inside are up to that point - t ...more
What are the psychological characteristics unique to a crowd vs. an individual? When does a creative, conscious individual cease to be himself, absorbed by the sentiments of the unconscious, credulous, binary, spiteful, and sovereign populace bound to destroy? If components of a crowd be unconscious, and those conscious optimistically believe in their immunity, are not all bound to drift through time unaware of their servitude to the underlying current whilst thinking themselves to be free? In t
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I started reading this book without knowing what era it was written in, I heard detailed references of events related to the French revolution and the Napoleon era so I thought it must've been written in the early 1800s, but then heard mentions of events around the 1900s, looking at the author's biography I saw that he lived from the 1840s to the 1930s, and it seems that living through this long and volatile period has had its effect on his personality, he has a very dark view of humanity and it
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I have been having this book a long time ago. I remember I had many times trying to keep my focus on reading this book but I failed. There was something in this book that would cut me of and never wanted to finish it. I guess three years later or so, I was finally able to re-read it. And now I can tell what was wrong with me.
There are many questions have risen after finishing this book. Something like, was this book translated to Arabic from English or French?. I guess it is an important questi ...more
There are many questions have risen after finishing this book. Something like, was this book translated to Arabic from English or French?. I guess it is an important questi ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: Description needed | 4 | 15 | Nov 24, 2020 11:45PM | |
| Goodreads Librari...: Combine editions | 4 | 22 | Jan 05, 2019 05:04AM | |
| نادي أبواب: سيكولوجية الجماهير - غوستاف لوبون | 3 | 66 | Apr 21, 2017 04:14PM | |
| نادي كلمة للقراءة : نقاش كتاب "سيكولوجية الجماهير "لغوستاف لوبون | 1 | 57 | May 07, 2016 04:27AM |
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